Should I get in?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>-GA resident, male
-Ethnicity:mixed Hispanic (Spanish) and Asian (Filipino)
-UW GPA: 3.94ish
-Weighted GPA: 4.14
-school doesn't rank, but I got an award for being the junior with the highest weighted GPA, meaning I'm a would-be valedictorian.</p>

<p>SAT I's (I'm retaking this October or November. I will aim for getting as close to perfect as possible.)</p>

<p>Math: 800
CR: 730
Writing:710</p>

<p>SAT II's (should I take some more, I'm also applying to 6/8 of the Ivies, Stanford, and MIT as well)
Math II: 800
Chem: 720
U.S. History: 710</p>

<p>AP scores:
US Gov and Politics-5
APUSH: 5
AP Chem: 5
AP Eng. Lang: 5</p>

<p>Senior Load
1. AP Calculus BC
2. AP Statistics (is it true stats is not really math, but is more like reading?)
3. AP Biology
4. AP Physics C
5. AP Literature
6. Economics (I wish my school offered AP.)</p>

<p>-school doesn't offer honors classes, but mentions "due to the rigorous curriculum of the school, no classes are designated as honors" in school description.</p>

<p>My only B's have been graphic design freshman year, AP Gov last year(will a 5 on the exam atone for this), and a mandatory composition class at our school this summer? I got straight A's junior year.</p>

<p>-will mention Math, Economics, and Chemistry respectively as my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice majors. I want to be an investment banker or hedge fund manager when I grow up.</p>

<p>EC's:</p>

<p>Boy Scouts
-Eagle Scout (just did my board of review). My project was building benches, pressure-washing old ones, and putting sealant.
-Senior Patrol Leader during 10th grade, Patrol Leader during 9th
-broke a national record for hiking. I hiked the Bartram Trail (100 miles/5 days, has a lot of elevation): honored by Governor Sonny Purdue and national head of boy scouts for this feat
-LOTS of community service projects
-raised money for inner-city kids to buy scout uniforms
-Philmont Summer 2010</p>

<p>Tennis (all 4 years)
-private lesons
-varsity tennis</p>

<p>Academic Quiz Bowl team (10-12)</p>

<p>I founded and am president of our school's food critic club. We go to restaurants about once a month and write critiques about them, which are published in the school newspaper. I'm trying to see if we can get published in the Zagat Survey. </p>

<p>Trumpet
-private lessons
-Superior Rating (9,10,11) at Solo Ensemble Festival
-Community Jazz Band (9-12)
-GISA all-select band member (11th grade) (top band members of private schools in GA)
-played for church on Sundays
-invited to play at school's open house 10th grade</p>

<p>Piano
-lessons
-invited to play at several concerts</p>

<p>Young Republicans (should i say this? i know prestigious colleges are very liberal?)
-Vice President in club
-Raised money every year for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan (don't know exact amount, club's teacher sponsor can tell us).
-campaigned for McCain for president, and Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson for U.S. Senate</p>

<p>Duke TIP summer program (summers after 9th and 10th grade, I respectively studied macroecon. and robotics)</p>

<p>Academic Awards:
-Georgia Certificate of Merit
-Phi Beta Kappa Award (given to Junior with the highest weighted GPA in class)</p>

<p>Hobbies:
-food-trying at restaurants (and even cooking some by myself)
-camping/backpacking</p>

<p>Miscellaneous:
I also volunteer at the library during the summer.
-I'm almost certain my PSAT score will qualify me for semifinalist standing in the NMS search. I didn't fill out Hispanic in the ethnicity section, so I wont get National Hispanic Recognition Program Honors.</p>

<p>Recommendations: I know several teachers at my school who like me and will probably write well about me.
Essay: 1) talk about perseverance, about how I thought I could accomplish anything after my national record hike (would this sound too trite?)
2) talk about how certain adversity in a trumpet competition didn't kill my trumpet passions. </p>

<p>Note of thought: Somebody at my school with an 1800 SAT/29 ACT got in.</p>

2

<p>An occasional B here and there won’t hurt you. You’re very well qualified and I can say confidently that you have a great chance of acceptance.</p>

<p>AP Statistics is kind of considered an easy AP.</p>

3

<p>There are def. things to mention, things to skip. Your scores, BTW, are terrific, as is your overall transcript. Mention: your commitments to activities that show in-depth involvement. Scouts (congratulations too), food critic club (sounds like fun!), varsity tennis, and trumpet. Mention your involvement with the Republican party. Colleges just want to see you’re involved, not how you’d vote.</p>

<p>Skip: the TIP program (did you pay for that? or were you “selected”? if you paid, skip it). skip the music/private lessons. (just shows you can pay for these things). </p>

<p>Highlight: Scouts (shows community and leadership), academics (awards, food interest (colleges love entrepreneurs), and maybe politics if that interests you.</p>

4

<p>For the TIP program, I was “selected” in 7th grade by scoring “high” (of course by middle school standards), which I think shows merit in my academics.</p>

5

<p>I’m not familiar with the TIP program. I’m glad to see you scored high, but if you paid for that program, it might not be as prestigious as something else. But, maybe it is.</p>

<p>For instance, my son scored high to participate in the Johns Hopkins summer camp program. That meant he was a smart kid, and taking a summer doing academics, I think, is admirable. But it wasn’t something he mentioned in his application.</p>

6

<p>My school didn’t offer AP economics either. I took it upon myself to learn both AP Macro and Micro, and got 5’s on both. I think it showed initiative. You might want to try something similar. They are really easy AP’s.</p>

7

<p>How would colleges know I self-studied AP Macro and Micro if the exam results show after I graduate?</p>

8

<p>^ The colleges won’t know if you self-studied AP Macro and Micro, as it will be too late for you. If you had taken the exams at the end of junior year they would have known.</p>

<p>BTW, WashU advises against bypassing the intro Macro and Micro classes, and won’t give credit for them with AP scores. So, I wouldn’t bother with self-studying for AP for Econ.</p>

<p><a href=“http://college.artsci.wustl.edu/sites/college.artsci.wustl.edu/files/AP%20Policy%202010.pdf[/url]”>http://college.artsci.wustl.edu/sites/college.artsci.wustl.edu/files/AP%20Policy%202010.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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9

<p>You mention it somewhere how you’re taking extra initiative, in a supplemental essay or something.</p>

<p>Also, while the econ department recommends not bypassing them, if you get a 4 or 5 on the exam you are more than qualified to progress.</p>

10

<p>well I’m sure the TIP program requires payment, but it obviously needs a student to be academically qualified first. So if you were “selected” first, then you should put it on your app. Basically, if it’s anything that you were chosen for among others and not something you participated in because you have money, you should include it.</p>

<p>Your scores are terrific and your courseload’s intense. However your weighted GPA is kinda low considering the amount of APs you’ve taken.</p>

11

<p>

I’m not sure how I missed this, but in reading this thread again, it seems really obvious that you’re a very motivated person and know “the system” of college apps. That said, I think you’d put WashU much lower ranked on your list that the other schools you’ve written here, and you probably even consider WashU to be your safety. Guess what? The folks at WashU don’t want well qualified kids to use them as their safety (except to boost the number of applicants). </p>

<p>They want their admitted kids to choose WashU as their first choice. My point is: do you really want to go there? Have you visited? Can you explain why they’re different and special (aside from being highly rated)? There were plenty of very qualified kids who applied to WashU with similar URM/hooks, ECs, and scores from our HS, but didn’t get it. Why not? WashU was not their first choice.</p>

12

<p>^ I agree with limabeans. This is exactly why applicants like you might be deferred/rejected by schools like WashU. The thing is, just apply to colleges that you’re really interested in. If it is a safety, then don’t worry because everyone has to have a safety. But having Wash U be a safety might require you to show your innate curiosity & interest for the institute. Wash U is no walk in the park for anyone.
By the way, TIP is very legit and qualifying for it at an early age is a good supplement. However, since you did this in 7th grade and not in your high school years, I probably think it might not be that significant to place in a college app. </p>

<p>Everything looks great but don’t overload your college list to the point that you don’t know much of the colleges that you are applying to in the first place. KUDOS! :)</p>

13

<p>I also did TIP in seventh grade…let me tell you that it did not once cross my mind to include that in my application. Colleges don’t care about middle school; it’s history.</p>

14

<p>My daughter did Duke TIP for 2 summers. She did list it on her applications. She was admitted to Washington University, Harvard, and Princeton among others.</p>

15

<p>actually, a simple solution is to apply as if every school if your first choice, because WashU’s not the only school that does this. When you interview someone from the school, do tell them that the school is your number 1 choice or somewhere on top.</p>

<p>Also, WashU’s easily among the top 10 or 15 schools i this country, idk how anyone is suppose to make it their safety school, no matter how smart they are.</p>

<p>Also, I doubt you should take more SAT IIs because 3 the the maximum any school would ask, Also, colleges don’t care about them as much as one would anticipate. If you have time, you should consider retaking the ones you alreayd have, but if you don’t, it’s alright.</p>